Pour Boys EM Team Hemmingway’s Dinner

Pour Boys EM Team Hemmingway’s Dinner

Our Pour Boys wine group assembled in Chicago to serve as volunteers on the Emergency Management team for the annual Frank Lloyd Wright Trust Wright Plus Housewalk.

Wright Plus is Frank Lloyd Wright Trust’s internationally renowned annual housewalk, featuring rare interior tours of private homes and public buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and his contemporaries. 

Nearly 3000 guests and VIPS enjoy tours of spectacular residences, learn about their history and architecture, and share a festive day with visitors from around the country and the world. 

The featured homes and buildings are in Chicago, Oak Park, Illinois and nearby communities. Wright Plus proceeds support the restoration, preservation and education programs of the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust.

With skills, experience and careers in medicine, law, security operations, command center communications and operations, this was an opportunity to apply our experience and expertise for a worthy cause - and have a fun day of art/architecture, history, culture, and fellowship. 

Afterwards we dined at Hemingway’s Bistro in Oak Park (IL) for a gala dinner. 

We brought from our collective cellars an extensive flight of Bordeaux and Bordeaux varietal wines to accompany the French inspired cuisine. 

For starters members of our group ordered selections from the menu including:

Foie Gras du Jour and Oysters Rockefeller (shown below), and Soft Shell Crab daily special.

For entree’s, folks ordered the Five-Spice Marget Duck Breast, Saturday Night regular special Beef Wellington and the Dijon Crusted Lamb Rack, shown below. 

 Five-Spice Marget Duck Breast

Saturday Night regular special Beef Wellington

Dijon Crusted Lamb Rack

 

Baked Halibut

Others in the group ordered the New York Steak au Poivre, Daily Special Halibut, and the Chicken Grilled Chicken Breast Paillard.

We were served by Kate, who did a wonderful, fabulous job tending to our dinner and somewhat complex, extensive wine service. 

Our wine flight included wines tasted in the following order:

From the wine list, Roederer Brut Premier Champagne,

And from our wine cellars, we brought BYOB: 

Château Canon St. Emilion Grand Cru Classe’ 2001

Château Branaire Ducru St Julien Bordeaux 2010

Château Pontet Canet Pauillac Bordeaux 2012

Château Ducru Beaucaillou St Julien Bordeaux 1989 and 2014

Fantesca Napa Valley Spring Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

Mayacamas Napa Valley Mt Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

Dow Vintage Port 1997

I’ve written often about our wine dinners and the exercise of determining the tasting order of the wines, based on weight (light to heavy), age (old to new), profile (dry to sweet), and other factors. Not amazingly, tonight, as is typically the case, our order of tasting proved to be correct, thereby optimizing the discrimination and the subsequent enjoyment of the wines. 

As a post mortem, we decided in the future, we’ll set two parallel flights, to enable the ladies a chance to dive right in to their favored, more approachable, pleasurable drinking Napa Cabernets, skipping ahead of the aged Bordeaux. 

Tonight’s tasting St Julien Bordeaux flight allowed a comparison of Branaire Ducru from Lyle’s cellar (held over from our recent Pour Boys gathering for the SoWal Wine Festival weekend in Destin, FL), and a mini vertical of two vintages of Ducru Beaucaillou - I brought a vintage 1989 and Lyle a 2014.

For those collectors that care about such details, the 1989 Ducru Beaucailou, which I acquired at and have held since release, was in perfect condition - fill level, cork, and label and foil. In fact the high neck fill level was better than the younger, 2010 Branaire Ducru! 

Dan brought from his cellar a pair of Bordeaux, the Château Canon right bank St Emilion, and the Pontet Canet Pauillac. We correctly tasted the lighter, more approachable, Right Bank based Merlot at the front of the flight, which proved the right move. 

Bill followed with two California, Napa Valley Cabernets from Fantesca and Mayacamas, serving the Spring Mountain District Fantesca, then the Mount Veeder Mayacamas. 

Finally, for the dessert course, Lyle brought from his cellar a vintage port to close out the evening. This was a nice accompaniment to the Crème Brûlée and the Soufflé du jour.

Château Canon St Emilion Grand Cru Classe 2001

Dating back, ever since I acquired and consumed a case of the 1983 vintage release of this label, I love this wine. 

This vintage release was awarded 94 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Wine Enthusiast, 93 by James Suckling and Jim Dunnuck, and 91 by Wine Spectator.

Parker’s Wine Advocate said in 2017, of “this Saint Emilion, that it would not surprise me if it turns out to be one of the very best in 2012”.

This release is a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc. 

Garnet colored, medium bodied, polished, elegant, balanced and silky smooth ripe blueberry, blackberry and a hint of plum with bitter dark chocolate, dusty rose with hints of licorice and vanilla, with fine tannins on long soft finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?1604477

Turning to the St Julien flight … 

Château Branaire Ducru St Julien Bordeaux 2010

Linda and I toured the Branaire Ducru estate, vineyards and Château during our St Julien Wine Experience in 2018. 

It estate, vineyards and Château sit on the highway as you enter the St Julien appellation from the south, immediately across the famous Medoc Route du Vin from Château Beychevelle, across from the Château Ducru Beaucaillou estate and vineyards. I featured that visit in these pages in this blogpost -  A visit to Château Branaire-Ducru.

The Branaire is somewhat of a baby Ducru, typically priced at a fraction of the price, more akin to the Ducru second label.

This vintage release seems to underachieve below the lofty expectations set by its stellar ratings, leaving me to winder if perhaps this was an aberrant bottle, as witnessed by my earlier comment of it having a lesser fill level than the much older 1989. In light of the impressive ratings below, and the CellarTracker average rating of 92+, I sense this might have been so.

This vintage release was rated 95 points, a ‘Cellar Selection’ by Wine Enthusiast, and 94 points by Wine Spectator, James Suckling and Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, and 90-93 by International Wine Cellar. Wine Enthusiast said, “Cellar Selection, This rich, full wine shows the chateau to be at the top of its form.”

Jancis Robinson gave it 17.5/20 points.

Parker’s Wine Advocate said, “This wine is more backward than I would have normally expected, but nevertheless, it is very impressive”

In the Left Bank Medoc style, this is 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23.5% Merlot, 4.5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.

Inky garnet colored with bluish purple hues, medium to full bodied, moderate raspberry and currant fruits with notes of floral, graphite, black olive and black tea and cedar with chewy tannins on the finish. 

RM 90 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?1497461

Château Ducru Beaucaillou St Julien Bordeaux 1989 and 2014

Our visit and tour of Château Ducru Beaucaillou was a highlight of our St Julien Bordeaux Wine Experience in 2019. I wrote about that visit in these pages in this blogpost -  A visit to Château Ducru Beaucaillou.

This label is one of the key holdings in our cellar collection consisting of more than a score of vintages spanning three decades dating back to 1980’s including the birth year vintages of each of our kids, 1981, 1982, 1985 and 1990. 

We hold many vintages in large format bottles including 3 liter double magnums from which we served son Ryan's 1982 birth year vintage at his and daughter-in-law Michelle's wedding.

Château Ducru Beaucaillou St Julien Bordeaux 1989

As noted above, this 1989 at 35 years of age was in near perfect condition - most importantly the fill level and cork, and the label and foil. We acquired an OWC - Original Wood Case, of this wine upon release and have held it in our cellar since, an indication of the ideal conditions in our cellar for holding wine for the long term.

This release was awarded  92 points by Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator. 

Garnet colored with hues of medium brick, medium to full-bodied, black berry fruits with notes of what Wine Advocate described as “pretty notes of dried flowers, fallen leaves and dusty soil over a core of warm figs, dried cherries, prunes and spice cake plus wafts of unsmoked cigars and powdered cinnamon, … still seductively rich with a lively line of soft, silt-like tannins, finishing long and wonderfully savory.”

Neal Martin in Vinous writes: "The 1989 Ducru-Beaucaillou is showing some bricking on the rim, although the core remains quite dark. This has an attractive bouquet with lovely tobacco-infused black fruit and touches of black truffle and morels.”

Winemaker Notes - “Intense garnet red color. An elegant bouquet very Ducru-Beaucaillou! Cedar at the start then notes of black pepper with a hint of vanilla. With airing, it evolves towards subtle hints of fine spices and notes of black cherry. Gorgeous palate with a beautiful tannin grain and perfect harmony. A neat and polished wine with excellent definition. Great freshness. Amazing purity. A succulent wine, vibrant, brilliant, wonderfully balanced.”

Racking barrels - sampling 2018 vintage Ducru

It’s almost not a fair fight comparing the old-world 1980’s style against the new-world modern style of the 2014. In that regard, consistent with earlier tastings, I gave this 90 points, never-the-less.

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?1625

Château Ducru Beaucaillou St Julien Bordeaux 2014

Comparing the ‘89 to the 2014 was a contrast in styles, old world vs new world, which has become the standard to provide bigger, more robust, higher octane forward fruit filled wines that also provide early drinking for instant gratification - the Robert Parker effect driving the quest for ratings. 

This release is a blend of Bordeaux varietals: 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot. Proprietor Bruno Borie gave it 18 months in 100 % new French oak.

This release was rated a near perfect 99 points by James Suckling, 98 points by Int'l Wine Review, 97 points by Decanter, 96 points by Decanter, Jeb Dunnuck and Wine Enthusiast, who also designated it a Cellar Selection, and 95 points by Vinous, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator. 

Regarding granting it a Cellar Selection, Wine Enthusiast stated, “The wine is certainly going to age for decades. Drink from 2027.” Hence, it won’t even reach its apex or prime drinking window for nearly another five years! Wine Spectator said it will be best through 2040. 

While this is one of my favorite producers, this release from a top vintage was my WOTN - Wine of the Night. 

Deep garnet inky purple color, full bodied, complex full, round and powerful yet elegant and perfectly balanced, blackberry and blackcurrant and black raspberry fruits, with notes of crème de cassis, spice box and black tea, with hints of graphite, licorice and cedar with what they call that St Julien signature menthol and cigar box with ripe fine grained tannins on a long lingering finish. 

RM 95 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?2076298

Château Pontet Canet Pauillac Bordeaux 2012

This is the legendary Bordeaux label from the Tesseron family who have invested in Napa Valley in recent years with the purchase of the late Robin William’s estate on Mt Veeder, which has reverberated in the loss of supply after three decades, to one of our long favored producers Robert Craig, as Tesseron have released the iconic Pym Rae vineyard sourced wine under their own proprietary label.  

This is a classic Left Bank Bordeaux varietal blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. It was aged 35% in cement eggs for 12 months. 

This release was awarded 93 points by James Suckling and Wine Advocate, 92 points by Vinous, Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator. 

Dark ruby/purple colored, full bodied, complex and dense ripe blackberry, blackcurrant and plum fruits with notes of tobacco, earth, bacon fat, licorice, herbs, mushrooms and a hint of truffle, with polished silky tannins on a long finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?1603795

Fantesca Napa Valley Spring Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

We have been fans of Fantesca since the estate was taken over and the brand was established by Duane and Susan Hoff back with the 2004 vintage release. Soon thereafter, they hired iconic winemaker Heidi Barrett in 2008, and more recently Somm star Master Sommelier DLynn Proctor as Wine Director/Ambassador.

We visited the magnificent historic Fantesca estate on the lower reaches of Spring Mountain district, that were highlights of our Napa wine excursions in 2007 and 2009. We hosted Duane at our home on one of his first release tours when he was traveling the country building the Fantesca brand.

We have acquired nearly a dozen vintages of the label in our cellar collection. Bill brought this vintage release from his cellar that he acquired as part of his wine club allocation. Their classic packaging with their etched glass oversize bottles with the painted label (s) provide a festive bottle for such a gala dinner.

This new world opulent style was Linda’s favorite WOTN - Wine of the Night. 

Dark inky ruby/purple, full bodied, rich concentrated dense black berry and black raspberry fruits accented with notes of black tea, dark bittersweet mocha chocolate, spice, hints of anise and tobacco on a bright vibrant moderate tannin finish. 

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?2488017

https://www.fantesca.com/

 Mayacamas Napa Valley Mt Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

Bill also brought from his South Carolina cellar this Mayacamas Vineyards Mt Veeder Cabernet. This full throttle Napa Cab was an ideal culmination to the Cabernet center wine flight of the evening. 

We visited the winery high atop Mt Veeder in the southwest corner of Napa Valley during our Napa Valley Wine Experience in 2011. We wrote about that visit and the historic estate winery and vineyards in this blogpost in these pages - Mayacamas Mt Veeder Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

Mayacamas is known for producing long-lived ageworthy classic style Cabernet Sauvignons in classic old world style with Napa Valley full, round, mountain fruit character. 

This 2009 release was rated 94 points by James Suckling, 92 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and 91 points by Jeb Dunnuck. 

Dark garnet colored, medium to full bodied with complex tight structured and firm but balanced black cherry and black berry fruits accented by notes of herbs, earthy leather, cigar box, licorice and hints of creosote with firm chewy tannins on a long finish. 

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?1947802

http://www.mayacamas.com/

 https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2022/12/mayacamas-mt-veeder-napa-valley.html

https://twitter.com/mayacamaswine

@mayacamaswine

Finally, with their dessert course, Lyle brought one of his signature Vintage Ports. 

Dow Vintage Port 1977

This was a perfect complement to the Souffle’ and Crème’s Brûlée and begged for some dark chocolate to wind up the evening. 

At twenty-seven years, there was still life left in this aged port, tasting like a ‘teenager’, however the cork was soft and a bit mushy.

This classic vintage port from one of the historic iconic Port house, this release was rated 95 points by Wine Spectator, 94 by Wine Enthusiast, 92 points by Inatl’ Wine Cellar, and 90 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. 

Winemaker Notes - Very dark opaque purple colour, with a typically spicy nose and intense underlying aromas of blackberries and blackcurrants. On the palate enormous weight and structure with a marvellous balance of dense black fruit flavours and firm tannins.

Blackish garnet.purple colored, medium full bodied, rich round concentrated dense ripe sweet black currant fruits with licorice, dark bittersweet mocha chocolate, notes of leather anise and hints of espresso with a bright vibrant finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?2186

https://www.dows-port.com/home.php

Trio of Napa/Sonoma Bordeaux Varietals for casual sipping

Trio of Napa/Sonoma Bordeaux Varietals for casual sipping 

Our Pour Boys wine group assembled in town for several events (Pour Boys EM Team Hemmingway’s Dinner) and in the evening, we opened several Napa Sonoma Bordeaux varietal labels for after dinner and casual sipping with a selection of artisan cheeses and biscuits.  

 

Freemark Abbey Napa Valley Atlas Peak Stagecoach Vineyard Merlot 2014

Last month, when we met in Florida, we tasted several wines from the Stagecoach Vineyard, so it was great to explore another varietal and label from the site. Those vineyard specific labels were featured in these pages in this blogpost - April 25, 2024 - Shiraz with BBQ Ribs at Pour Boys dinner.

We also happened to meet folks from Freemark Abbey and tasted and acquired some of their vintage releases during the SoWal - South Walton Beaches Wine Festival that weekend in Destin, FL.

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2024/04/pour-boys-gather-for-sowal-wine.html

Stagecoach Vineyard is located at 1800 feet of elevation on the eastern side of the Napa Valley in the Atlas Peak AVA (American Viticulture Area). The rugged topography and warm climate produces wines that are dark ruby in color and complex in its features.

Freemark Abbey describes the source site for this label - “Stagecoach Vineyard—Atlas Peak: These grapes were sorted from the Atlas Peak area of the Stagecoach Vineyard, located north east of Napa at approximately 1,500 ft. elevation. Composed of ancient volcanic soils, the vineyard is carved out of rocky terrain, sage brush and chaparral. The grape vines struggle in this environment, creating grapes that are small and very concentrated. The Merlot grapes ripen very evenly, yielding great dark cherry depth with an incredible distinctiveness that can only be derived from the terroir of Stagecoach.”

Bill brought this limited release single vineyard designated ultra-premium label from his cellar. He acquired this as part of his wine club allocation. He’s been a Freemark Abbey member for decades and has an extensive collection of Freemark Abbey labels including several limited release labels such as this. 

We’ve tasted and written often in these pages about Freemark Abbey single-vineyard designated wines - most notably the Bosché and Sycamore Vineyard labels, which we have both collected over the decades, of which we hold several vintages in our cellars.

Iconic veteran Freemark Abbey winemaker Ted Edward’s expressed what the Stagecoach vines were capable of, much in the way he effortlessly describes the characteristics of Freemark’s single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons from Bosché and Sycamore.

“Freemark Abbey is very much dedicated to vineyard-designated wines,” Ted said. He noted that he’s as thrilled to work with Stagecoach Merlot as consumers are to drink and collect it because “the wine really does speak to the soil. It speaks to the terroir, as they call it, of Atlas Peak. And that hillside and mountain side soil is very impressive. I mean, it's much more dramatic than a lot of the stuff on the valley floor.’

“The soils there are, I believe, volcanic origin with a lot of bedrock. But there's a lot of sage and manzanita and kind of scrubby vegetation up there. So when you smell the wine, to me that comes out in the wine… I always get the spices like sage and black pepper.” 

Freemark featured this Atlas Peak Stagecoach Vineyard label in their wine blog when they wrote, “We’ve featured several wines from this iconic vineyard recently but this is the first Merlot varietal I’ve ever had from the site. Merlot has been an important part of the cellar at Freemark Abbey dating back to the first vintage 1989, and every year since,” Winemaker Emeritus Ted Edwards recently pointed out with pride. “And we made it in 1975 and 1985.” 

“Ted and his team have crafted single-vineyard and AVA-specific Cabernet Sauvignons and Merlots that fill the Freemark Abbey wine library. They demonstrated that Napa Valley Merlot stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Cabernet. As Winery Historian Barry Dodds likes to say, “There wouldn’t be great Cabernet without Merlot. Period.”’

Freemark Direct to Consumer Manager Chris Jahns said, “Our customers have been very excited by the Stagecoach,” referring to this 2014 Stagecoach Vineyard Merlot from the Atlas Peak AVA.” 

Ted and his assistant winemakers turned a small amount of extremely high-quality Stagecoach Merlot grapes (with a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon) into a few hundred cases of single-vineyard wine from one of Napa Valley’s most coveted properties. 

As good as his Napa Valley Merlot bottling has been over the years, Ted’s version of Stagecoach Merlot, accessed entirely from the M4 block in the heart of the vineyard, is a stunning addition to the Freemark Abbey portfolio.

Stagecoach has vineyard blocks: 610 acres of them, divided up across a 1400 total acres of rugged, chaparral-dotted terrain.

Stagecoach is like a valley within a valley, completely separated on an elevated plateau from the northeastern edge of the city of Napa just 20 minutes down Soda Canyon Road. The rugged topography and warm climate create a wine that is dark ruby in color and complex in its features. 

This was aged 16 months in French (34% new); World Cooperage barrels.

Winemaker Notes - The dominant flavor of this rich and smooth Merlot is black cherry, with nuances of milk chocolate, integrated spicy oak and arugula. Great balance of fruit, body, tannin and acidity. The depth and richness of flavor provide a smooth profile that delivers from the initial sip and continues on the palate for a long beautiful finish.

It opens with aromas of black and blue fruits, sage, mountain scrub and cocoa powder. Flavors include vanilla oak spices, milk chocolate, medium roast coffee and black cherry. The textures are rich and creamy up front, complemented by bold, mountain tannins giving it plenty of structure to stand up to your richest meals and the test of time in the cellar.

Dark ruby colored, full bodied, full round smooth and polished, ripe black raspberry and black currant fruits with notes of chocolate, cinnamon and clove spices with hints of cedar turning to a pleasant velvety tannin laced finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?2916995

https://www.freemarkabbey.com/wine/library/stagecoach-merlot

@FreemarkAbbey https://x.com/FreemarkAbbey

From there, we turned to another iconic producer and label of which we also have a long history. 

Dunn Family Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

This Napa Cab is from legendary producer Randy Dunn. We visited the Dunn Family Vineyards estate and vineyards during our Napa Napa Valley Howell Mountain Wine Experience back in 2008. We were hosted by Kristina Dunn that day but we had the privilege to meet winemaker, producer, patriarch and Napa Valley pioneer Randy Dunn. 

We have been collecting their wines since the early ‘80’s  and hold two dozen vintages of this label spanning three decades. While not one of the larger holdings in our cellar in terms of number of bottles, it may be one of our broadest holdings in terms of number of vintages in our vertical collection of this label, and the flagship premium label Dunn Howell Mtn Cab. We also collect Randy Dunn's "Feather" label that he produces for the Long Shadows Vintners Collection Series in Washington State.

This is the Dunn's standard Napa Valley bottling which is supposedly more 'accessible' earlier on than their legendary Howell Mountain bottling. This is 85% estate Howell Mountain fruit, but blended with 15% Napa fruit for earlier drinking. 

Randy Dunn wines are notable for their long lives and this is certainly testament to that. At 13.8% alcohol, this is an old school style Cabernet. This was showing no signs of diminution from aging whatsoever. At twenty-two years, the most important fill level and cork were perfect, as was the label and foil. 

This is from the well regarded, warm 2002 vintage, and as such, this should have a long, long life ahead of it. 

I think this was the best drinking Dunn Napa bottle I have ever had. This exceeded my expectations showing fresh and vibrant fruits, still very much at the apex of its drinking profile, surely able to hold for several more years, perhaps another decade or more. 

This vintage release was rated  93 points by Vinous, 92 points by Connoisseurs Guide and 91 points by Wine Spectator.

Bright, dark ruby colored, full bodied, vibrant rich concentrated but elegant and refined sweet ripe black raspberry fruits with notes of sweet bitter chocolate, tobacco, hints of anise, toffee, sweet oak and herbs with a long lingering finish with full smooth palate-saturating tannins. 

Randy Dunn increased his percentage of new oak from 50% to 67% with this vintage, and that may partly explain the wine's sweetness. 

Winemaker Notes - “The Napa Valley wines are a blend of the Howell Mountain fruit from the estate and a small quantity of valley floor fruit that the winery purchased. This valley floor fruit contributes to the wine’s earlier approach-ability and softer tannic structure. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 32 months in 100% new French oak.”

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?97865

https://www.dunnvineyards.com/

https://x.com/dunnvineyards - @dunnvineyards

Chateau St. Jean ''Special Edition 45th Anniversary'' Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

Later into the evening we were joined by fellow Pour Boy Dr Dan, so we pulled from the cellar a bottle from a producer we have all visited together during our Napa Sonoma Wine Experience back in 2018.

I wrote about this wine in detail in a blogpost back in 2020 - Chateau St. Jean 45th Edition Cabernet which is excerpted before.

We've written often in these pages about Chateau St. Jean being one of the crown jewels of Sonoma. It is one of our regular chateau estate tastings in our visits to the Sonoma region. 

We've visited the estate and done tastings there numerous times over the years. Sonoma Harvest '09 - Chateau St Jean and again Sonoma Valley Wine Experience 2009 - Chateau St Jean.

2015 Chateau St. Jean ''Special Edition 45th'' Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 

As noted, this was a one-of special edition wine and label to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Chateau St. Jean.

 This release got 94 points from James Suckling and Antonio Galloni's Vinous, and 91 points from Natalie.

James Suckling said this 'needs two or three years to soften. Try after 2022. Best from 2020 through 2030.' I agree, in our tasting back in 2020, it was a bit tight, closed and flabby on initial opening, and will hopefully come together with a few more years aging. Antonio Galloni wrote, the "floral and savory aromas open up over time", and we found it needed time to open and in fact, was better the next day, after sitting open for the evening. 

The fruit was sourced from several vineyard sites throughout the Alexander Valley where Cabernet Sauvignon grows best including some of St. Jean’s traditional sources: Asti Vineyard, Stuhlmuller Vineyard as well as Belle Terre vineyard.  

Chateau St Jean winemaker Margo Van Staaveren writes: "The 2015 growing season was one of outstanding quality marked with ideal weather for growing Cabernet Sauvignon. The continuation of California’s drought brought a dry winter followed by a dry and early spring with an early bud break. Weather was warm and consistent throughout late spring and summer which allowed for full development in the grapes. We began picking the grapes in September, and while overall yields were low, the quality and depth of flavor of the fruit was excellent."  

The wine was barreled aged in 60% French and 40% American Oak barrels for 20 months of oak aging. This wine was bottled in August of 2017 and received another 6 months of bottle age prior to its release on January 1, 2018, to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the famed winery.  

Natalie writes,"Dramatic differences in day and night time temperatures gives this Cabernet Sauvignon is ripe, juicy fruit flavours of cassis, smoke, anise and dried sweet tobacco. Decant for one hour prior to pouring."

The Winemaker's Tasting Notes; "Deep ruby in color, this Cabernet Sauvignon boasts a huge amount of blueberry, plum, and violets on the nose, with oak spices shining through. On the palate, blue fruit flavors combine with cassis and plum to create a very deep berry and fruit profile. The wine finishes with strong oak spice supported by the tannic structure. Very drinkable with a strong acidity complementing the tannins and fruit flavors. Drink now, or cellar for up to 15 years."

Consistent with that earlier tasting, this was dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, black berry and black currant fruits with notes of dark mocha chocolate, cassis, smoke, anise, black tea and tobacco.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2947884

Chateau St. Jean Website - http://www.chateaustjean.com/

https://x.com/CSJWines.  @CSJWines

Pour Boy lunch Venge Brown Bear Chardonnay

Pour Boys gather for FLW weekend and gala BYOB French Bistro Dinner - kick off with Pour Boys lunch with Venge Brown Bear Chardonnay

Our Pour Boys wine group gathered in Chicagoland for a gala weekend centered on the annual Frank Lloyd Wright Wright Plus Housewalk, culminating in a wine dinner at Hemingway’s French Bistro featuring some wine list selections and special BYOB bottles. 

As out of towners arrived for the weekend, wine buddy and fellow Pour Boy Bill C came over Thursday afternoon to visit and plan the weekend activities. We picked up Tuna Poke Bowls and Caesar Salads at Marianos to enjoy for lunch on the deck. I pulled from the cellar one of our favorite and currently best tasting Chardonnays for an ideal wine pairing. I think this bottle is perhaps the best tasting one in our cellar right now, irregardless of the price point.  

We first tasted this label and I wrote about Venge Vineyards and this limited release label in a these pages earlier, excerpted here back in December 2021 when we served it at a special holiday dinner - Venge Brown Ranch Chardonnay.

Venge Vineyards Brown Ranch Vineyard Los Carneros Napa Valley Chardonnay 2018

This is a single vineyard designated label sourced from the 30 acre Brown Ranch Vineyard in Carneros, named for the previous cattle rancher owner Nadine Brown. The vineyard is bordered by HdV’s Hyde Vineyard and Beaulieu’s Vineyard No.9 on Old Sonoma Road in the Carneros district, straddling the rolling hills in the southernmost parts of both Sonoma and Napa counties. The cooling winds from the nearby San Pablo Bay, combined with the abundant midday California sunshine, create an ideal environment for producing elegant wines that combine power and finesse, with a perfect balance of crisp acidity and well-ripened fruit.

The property, formerly associated with Saintsbury Winery, was purchased in 2012 by the Renterias.

The property was planted with twenty nine acres of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay but most of
the vines were afflicted with Eutypa, a fungi disease also known as the Dead-arm Dieback, which causes trunks or arms of the vines to essentially rot and die. Like the famous Dead-Arm Shiraz label from McLaren Vale, Australia, rather than pulling the vines out, the vineyard managers kept the rootstock, cut off the trunk just above the soil and nurtured a bud to grow into a new trunk. Like the Dead-Arm label, focusing all the mature rootstock energy into one vine branch resulted in rich, full, concentrated fruits.

The Brown Ranch’s hillside alluvial soils, with Dijon Clone 76 set into the pre-existing rootstock, produces this rich full round Chardonnay, worthy of the iconic Venge name.Winemaker's notes: The Dijon Clones are modern strains of Chardonnay carefully isolated from grapevine nursery blocks in France. These strains are selected for their incredible ability to produce the best of what the varietal has to offer and therefore have become quite popular with cool climate growers today. The cool and often foggy climate of the Brown Ranch Vineyard, located in central Carneros, Napa, allows for a slow growing season and optimal ripening. This climate aids in the balancing of acidity and lifting tropical aromas in the fruit and thus, in the finished wine. The vines were carefully hand harvested and delivered cool to the winery.

Winemaker's Notes: "This wine is stylish and freshly balanced, featuring a light, pale straw presence in the glass with a bouquet of fresh orange citrus, toasted pine nuts, mild allspice, rocky flints, and toasted oak. Crisp, savory pineapple, sweet delicious apple, savory stone fruit, and ripe pear lead into mouthwatering deliciousness.

The grapes are blended into used French Oak barrels according to a Burgundian style of winemaking, light handed on the usage of new French Oak keeping it to an average of 45%.

495 Cases were Produced

This release was rated 93 points by Wine Enthusiast and Jeb Dunnuck and 92 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.

Golden lemon colored, medium full-bodied, full, round, concentrated, complex opulent fruits with a layer almost bordering on butterscotch, accented by notes of baking spice, hints of lemon, grapefruit, ginger and a touch of peach and almond nut cream, with bright acidity, depth and balance on a full long finish.

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3517412

http://www.vengevineyards.com/

https://twitter.com/VengeVineyards

Snowden Rutherford Cabernet w/ ribeye steak

Snowden Rutherford Cabernet w/ ribeye steak

With ribeye steak leftover from our gala Mother’s Day dinner, Linda prepared the chopped up baked potatoes with corn, peas and asparagus as a delicious side. Following the extraordinary Rutherford and Oakville Napa Cabernets recently, and on Sunday, I pulled from the cellar this aged vintage label from the appellation.

Seeking the closest geographical source for a comparison tasting, I pulled from the cellar a 2001 Snowden estate bottled cab. Snowden is from the lower southern end of Oakville district in the foothills about 700 feet elevation. The wines ended up being in stark contrast in terroir and style - but both well suited to the grilled steak.

I wrote about Snowden Vineyards in a blogpost back in 2015, excerpted here, when we tasted an earlier vintage release.

From October, 2015

Snowden Vineyards Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 1997

We first discovered Snowden Vineyards during their inaugural release back in the early nineties. We hosted co-owner Scott Snowden at one of our wine producer dinners at Brix in Napa Valley back then. I recall we enjoyed hearing his reminiscences about his family living down in Oakland and visiting Napa Valley and eventually settling there, and him and his brother taking over and developing the property after his father's death.

Today, Scott is a managing director for Snowden Vineyards. An interesting side note, he has also appeared as a visiting judge in Craig Johnson's fascinating "Longmire" mysteries, one of our favorite streaming series! 

Snowden's parents scoured Napa Valley and the adjoining hills looking for a suitable parcel that they could afford. Eventually they found and acquired a remote parcel in the hills on the east side of the Silverado Trail between St. Helena and Rutherford in the spring of 1955, a 160 acre ranch that had been in the Albert and Jane Eisan family since 1895. 

Along the south boundary of the property, Albert's uncle, Ward Eisan, owned a comparably sized parcel which was even more remote than Albert's -- access to Ward Eisan's property was through Albert's. Today, Ward Eisan's ranch is the site of Rutherford Hill Winery, Auberge du Soliel Hotel and Restaurant, Katheryn Hall Winery, and Sloan Winery.

According to their website at the time - "Following Wayne Snowden’s death in 1977, Wayne and Virginia’s sons, Scott and Randy Snowden, assumed responsibility for the property. In 1981, they removed all of the then-producing vineyards and orchards and replanted them to Cabernet Sauvignon utilizing budwood from Jordan Vineyard near Healdsburg.  Through the 1980s, they sold grapes from the resulting 11 acre vineyard -- today called "The Brothers Vineyard" -- to Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars.  During that period, the family worked closely with Warren Winiarski, owner of Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, and his viticultural consultant, Danny Schuester, to optimize trellising, training, and cropping of the vineyard, track cultural variables and correlate these to wine quality'.

"Beginning in the 1990s, grapes from the property went to a number of other vintners, including Silver Oak Wine Cellars, Frank Family Vineyard, David Ramey, Viader, and Caymus Vineyards. Commencing with the 1993 harvest, Scott and Randy began to retain a portion of each harvest for the production of estate-specific family wines. Gradually, an increasing amount of the grapes produced from the property were used in Snowden wines."

Linda recalled tonight, that the artistic label on this bottle was designed by Scott’s wife. We recalled he shared that she was also involved in designing the Marilyn Merlot labels that are so popular amongst collectors, and of which we hold more than two dozen vintages. Today, Joann Ortega Snowden is a partner in Ortega Design Studio in St. Helena where she and her twin sister, Susann, design wine labels and other graphics for wineries in the United States and Europe. 

Today, the fourth generation of Snowden’s are involved in helping manage Snowden Vineyards producing Snowden wines. According to the current website, the current winemaker is Diana Snowden Seysses, a Napa Valley native and the eldest of the four third-generation-Snowdens active in the family’s vineyard and wine endeavor. Diana graduated from the Viticulture and Enology program at the University of California at Davis in 2001. 

During and after her studies, she worked at wineries in California and France, including Robert Mondavi Winery, Mumm Napa Valley, the Araujo Estate, Ramey Wine Cellars, Fleur de Boüard, and Domaine Leflaive. In January, 2003, Diana became oenologist at Domain Dujac in Burgundy. Diana became winemaker at Snowden commencing with the 2005 harvest and since then has divided her professional time between California and Burgundy, where she lives with her husband Jeremy and their sons, Aubert and Blaise. 

We acquired our first Snowden Napa Valley Cabernet in the 1993 vintage and every vintage thereafter through the nineties, and off and on since. According to our Cellartracker records, we still hold ten vintages of this wine.

Like another tasting when we opened a 1997 vintage release, tonight, the 2001 release was still showing well. Back then I wrote, “This '97 is a testament to the vintage, considered a top vintage with longevity for Napa Cabernet, which took several years to finally open and reveal its true potential, even to the point of being outscored by the sleeper '98, considered inferior in the early years after release but showed well in intermediate years while the '97 was still closed and 'lying low'.”

“Now, at eighteen years of age, this '97 is most likely at its peak, will not improve any further with aging, but is not showing any diminution either. It showed dark blackish garnet color, medium body, firm, a bit tight, slightly astringent the first evening upon opening, but notably, this astringency was totally gone the next evening, black berry and black cherry fruits with tones of cedar, black olives, oak, and tangy tannins on the long lingering tongue puckering finish.”

As noted, we have held a dozen vintages dating of Snowden dating back to their inaugural releases in 1993-94. We still hold a half dozen and pulled this 2001 release hoping it would be a ‘Goldilocks’ tasting - not too young, but not too old. It proved to be so, just right!

Tonight, the 2001, at twenty three years, the important fill level and cork were still perfect, as was the foil and the label. I have to say this exceeded my expectations, still seeming to be at the apex of its drinking window, showing well, and likely still to have several years yet of enjoyable quality drinking. Some of this is attributable to the 2001 vintage, for sure.

My records show we lasted tasted this vintage release of this label back in 2014 as covered in this blogpost - 2001 Vintage Napa Cab Comparison Reveals Contrasts in Terroir

Snowden Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

We discovered Snowden shortly after their inaugural release in the early nineties and still hold several vintages dating back to then. We met Scott and Randy Snowden during our early Napa Wine Experience events from that era.

Tonight this was completely consistent with that earlier tasting back in 2015. In fact this bottle seemed to be holding up better than that earlier bottle, perhaps due to bottle variation and did not have the symptoms  of diminution or deterioration experienced earlier.  I gave this bottle a 91 rating, better than that earlier tasting. 

The '01 was dark garnet colored with a subtle rust on the rim, full bodied, firm and a bit tight, forward black cherry, black currant and black cherry fruits, accented by tones of black tea, black olive, herb, cedar and spice, finishing with a gripping lingering tannins.  

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=244995

http://www.snowdenvineyards.com/

Radio Coteau Sonoma Coast Los Colinas Syrah 2019

Radio Coteau Sonoma Coast Los Colinas Syrah 2019

For casual mid-week sipping some wine with a cheese plate and fresh fruit, I pulled from the cellar this recently acquired Sonoma Coast Syrah. We love big round concentrated fruit forward wines. I picked up a six pack of this label and wanted to try it to see its tasting profile and determine what my cellaring aging plan should be. 

Radio-Coteau Las Colinas Syrah

The moniker Radio-Coteau (rā’ dē ō – kō tō’) is a French colloquial expression suggesting “word of mouth” , which literally translated means “broadcasting from the hillside”. Ironically, the origin of use of the term is from the French Northern Rhone wine region. The odd name is reminiscent of one of our favorite producer, Vieux Telegraph, ironically from the Rhône River Valley, but deriving its name for a different historical reason, 

Originally named Joseph Morelli & Sons before Prohibition, the Lemorel winery (as it was later known) dates back to 1892, when the first vines were planted. The current owners acquired the  Radio-Coteau historic 42-acre Estate vineyard and ranch located on a ridgetop above the town of Occidental in 2012. 

Eric Sussman is winegrower and proprietor of the the property going back to the early 2000s. While scouting vineyard sites for the first Radio-Coteau vintage, he met and began a relationship with Robert Von Weidlich, the owner of the property at that time. The 2002 Radio-Coteau Von Weidlich Zinfandel was the first product of that collaboration.

Eric, a New York State native, developed his passion for winegrowing while studying agriculture at Cornell University. After spending several years in Washington’s Yakima Valley, he worked in France as an apprentice working the 1995 vintage in Bordeaux at Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Pauillac, and 1996 in Burgundy at Domaine Comte Armand of Pommard and Domaine Jacques Prieur of Meursault. There he gained respect and appreciation for the intrinsic connection between land, people and the wine they produce.

Returning to the US, he spent a year at Bonny Doon Winery in Santa Cruz, before settling in Western Sonoma County where he spent four years as the associate winemaker for Dehlinger.

Eric established Radio-Coteau in 2002, focusing on the north coast vineyards of western Sonoma County and the Anderson Valley. 

The estate lies ten miles from the ocean on a ridgetop above Occidental, situated 800 feet above sea level, the property is a diverse agroecosystem, or terroir, with beneficial Goldridge soil.  The benchland location

is comprised of the fine sandy loam Goldridge soil, remnants of an ancient seabed, which provides excellent drainage and moderate fertility.

As part of the Sonoma Coast AVA, the site borders the Green Valley and Russian River Valley AVAs. The area experiences moderate rainfall seasonally through the winter months, and overall cool, coastal climate due to the marine air and fog, which provides for extended ripening and good flavor development in the grapes. 

Radio-Coteau has established blocks of Syrah and old-vine Zinfandel, and recently replanted existing acreage to Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Riesling. The estate has three vineyards.  

Radio-Coteau Las Colinas Sonoma Coast Syrah 2019

This Las Colinas Syrah is a single vineyard designated label showcasing the cool-climate site, the essence of the western Sonoma Coast appellation Las Colinas vineyard.

Winemaker notes for this release - “Medium garnet in color with an alluring ruby core, the 2019 Las Colinas Syrah fills the glass with fresh blueberry and crushed violet notes interwoven with hints of sweet clove, earthy sous bois, and dried bay leaf. Gliding tannins seamlessly pull together bright traces of huckleberry and spicy black peppercorn, leading into a long and compelling finish.”

There is similarity to the following release which is worth noting. 

Winemaker notes for the 2020 vintage release - “The 2020 Las Colinas Sonoma Coast Syrah opens with darker fruit notes of boysenberry, blueberry, and black cherry that charmingly balance a seductive underlying sauvage character. A sweet whisper of smoked cherry wood bacon follows the fruit, alongside hints of leather, espresso, and black olives. Slightly dusty, chewy tannins complement a lively acid backbone, making the 2020 Las Colinas ready for immediate enjoyment while also poised for graceful aging.”

Our experience tasting with this wine is expressed perfectly by fellow Cellartracker KINGSLEYZISSOU 93 Points who like the wine and rated it 93 points. He wrote “I may have opened this a touch too early, but delicious regardless and a great example of Radio-Coteau’s more old world sensibility. The nose shows incredible concentration of rustic, savory fruit, notably lush black olive, dried tomato with considerable spice underlining it — herbs de Provence and black pepper. Consider cellaring this for another 2 years at least — needs some more time to develop the tertiary complexity it’s capable of.”

We gave it 92 points, but that reflects personal taste perhaps and I don’t disagree with his rating at 93 fore those that prefer the old world style. 

Antonio Galloni of Vinous gave it 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4393479

https://radiocoteau.com/

https://twitter.com/RadioCoteauWine

@RadioCoteauWine

Mother’s Day Surf ‘n Turf dinner paired with ultra-premium wines

Mother’s Day Surf ‘n Turf dinner paired with spectacular flight of ultra-premium wines

We were blessed to have all four of our children drop in for Mother’s Day. Some had to move on to mother-in-laws for dinner but Ryan and Alec were able to stay. 

After some spirited blistering pickleball on the driveway court we settled in to a fabulous dinner with some spectacular wines. 

For a very special Mother’s Day dinner we dined on the deck and Linda prepared surf ‘n turf lobster tails and ribeye beefsteak served with grilled asparagus and baked potatoes. Son’s Ryan and Alec brought over from their cellars some ultra-premium wines, which I supplemented with some labels from our cellar.

Our initial wine flight included these labels plus a couple others … 

Kistler Durrell Vineyard Sonoma County Chardonnay 2019 

Ryan brought from his cellar this classic, legendary producer single vineyard select Chardonnay. Kistler produce one heritage Californian selection Chardonnay based clone planted across fifteen select vineyards, from Carneros to Sonoma Valley, to the Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast. From those sites they produce eleven vineyard designate Chardonnays, each representing the unique terroir of the site.

This label, Durrell Vineyard Chardonnay, has been bottled since 1986, sourced from a vineyard at the bottom of Sonoma Valley where it meets the Sonoma Coast and Carneros appellations. The site contains loamy soil that is heavily influenced by a vein of stone that runs through the blocks that are dedicated to this label. 

Winemaker notes for this release - “Pale yellow. Luxurious perfumes lift high, pinned by the marine-earthen tones of the lower reaches of Sonoma Valley/Carneros. Fully ripe yellow and orange citrus flesh and blooms, and a golden fruited body lead to a silken-weighted middle, sparked by natural acids and a lengthy finish that persists with hints of herbed nut oils. The weightiest of our fall release wines but so driven by its well-integrated acidity, that it belies its own density and sits perfectly balanced.”

This release was awarded 97 points by Lisa Perrotti-Brown of The Wine Independent and James Suckling, and 95 points by Vinous, Antonio Galloni.

Golden straw colored with light green hue, medium-full bodied, polished nicely integrated and balanced, expressive vibrant notes of lime, lemon and grapefruit citrus with notes of stone fruit and minerality with smooth acidity on the long finish.

RM 93 points, 

https://www.kistlervineyards.com/wines/2021-durell-vineyard-chardonnay/

Cuvée 'L' Veuve Doussot Champagne NV 

This Pinot Noir Chardonnay blend Champagne comes from the southern Aube region, the vineyards surrounding the village of Noé-les-Mallets in the Côte-des-Bar, situated near the house of general Degaulle and its memorial, opposite the village of Troyes. The area is closer to Chablis than the center of the Champagne region, with a warmer microclimate ideal for Pinot Noir. 

The Champagne house of Veuve Doussot has been home to several generations of winegrowers, involved in all aspects of growing and producing wines since 1746. Today it is run by third generation Stephane Joly.

The Joly family have been winegrowers and producers in the heart of the Champagne region for over a century. In 1970, Georges Joly and his sons created the first Veuve Doussot brand, continuing the family winemaking history set by his grandfather, father and uncles. 

Stephane Joly took over after the death of his father. He restructured the vineyard taking over parts from his cousins, and took over all aspects of  winemaking, marketing and distribution. He is a member of the commandery of “Saulte bouchon Champenois” and local member of the general winegrowers union.

The vineyards are 90% planted to Pinot Noir, best suited to area for its soil rich with clay and limestone. To add fresh and floral flavours to the Champagne they also grow Chardonnay; creating a smell and a taste unique to the distinctive terroir. Because of the proximity to Chablis, you often find similar veins of the chalky Kimmeridgian soil, interspersed with red clay and limestone.

The Veuve Doussot portfolio includes 10 different Champagne cuvees, a few still wines, and an excellent Ratafia (an aperitif made from distilled Champagne grapes).

This cuvee is primarily composed of Pinot Noir, blended with 15% chardonnay, and aged in the classical Champagne tradition, on the lees in bottles for a minimum of 18 months. The dosage level here is designated as Brut.  

This was rated 92 by Wine Enthusiast. 

Golden straw colored, medium bodied, rich and textured, intense bright pear, melon, green apple and citrus fruit flavors with toasty pain grille notes accentuated with dusty rose, white flowers and chalky minerals ending with a bright, crisp finish.

RM 91 points. 

• https://confrerie-domaines.com/en/home/champagne/champagne-veuve-doussot/

  
  

Viña Cobos, Vineyard Designate Malbec, Marchiori Estate, Luján de Cuyo, Argentina, 2019

Ryan brought the remains of this bottle from his cellar. We first tasted this wine when Ryan served it at a family gathering about a year ago, which I wrote about in detail in pages at that time, excerpted below. 

Viña Cobos is the Argentine project of legendary California winemaker/producer Paul Hobbs. 

In addition to his global consulting career, Paul Hobbs has navigated producing wines globally, engaging annually in two harvests across nine countries.  Today, Paul is the owner and winemaker for Sebastopol, California based wineries Paul Hobbs Winery and Crossbarn, as well as his international partnerships: Viña Cobos of Argentina, Crocus of Cahors, France, Yacoubian-Hobbs of Armenia and his two latest projects in development: Hillick & Hobbs, focusing on Finger Lakes riesling, and Alvaredos-Hobbs in Galicia, Spain.

Paul Hobbs visited Mendoza in Argentina in 1989 and started working with Malbec, exploring different terroirs of Mendoza, looking for the most distinguished regions in Luján de Cuyo and the Valle de Uco, to produce wines that uniquely express their origins.

He established Viña Cobos in 1998, After twenty years of experimenting, development, innovation and improvement, Viña Cobos has evolved to become internationally recognized for producing luxury-class wines and a world quality leader for Malbec based wines. Viña Cobos creates extraordinary wines of outstanding quality, highlighting Malbec as the emblematic variety of Mendoza.

With the inaugural vintage of Cobos Malbec in 1999, Viña Cobos marked a milestone in viticulture, defying existing standards and firmly positioned Malbec and Argentina on the international wine scene.

Viña Cobos, Vineyard Designate Malbec, Marchiori Estate, Luján de Cuyo, Argentina, 2018  

The winery’s elegant and balanced wines are a result of meticulous vineyard farming and utmost attention to showcasing the specific terroir of the region. This Malbec is sourced from Estates and vineyards in Luján de Cuyo and Valle de Uco. The Marchiori Estate is the cornerstone of Viña Cobos. Malbec grapes grown in block C2 have been the key source since the inaugural vintage release, Cobos Malbec 1999. 

Luján de Cuyo is the premier growing region of Mendoza, fed by the snow-melt of the Andes through the Mendoza River. High altitudes range from 945 - 1,100 m (2,624 - 3,608 ft). The soils are alluvial, with a subsoil of clay, sand, silt and rock.

Valle de Uco with proximity to the Andes Mountains characterizes this cool, high altitude region. Vineyards sites range from 900 - 1,400 m (2,950 - 4,600 ft) in elevation. The soils are alluvial, sandy and rocky, and in some areas, limestone.

In addition to Malbec, Viña Cobos grows and produces Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay.

The 2015 Cobos Marchiori Estate Malbec was awarded 98 points by JS. This release was awarded 97 points by James Suckling and 95 by Wine Spectator.

Winemaker Notes - “Cobos Marchiori seduces with its extraordinary aromatic richness, it is an intense and elegant wine, in which its great freshness stands out. It shows an intense red color with violet tones. We find red fruit, cassis, plum, spices, blond tobacco, coconut, white pepper, chocolate and subtle notes of cardamom. The richness on the nose is repeated in the mouth in an exquisite way. It is long and sweet, with soft tannins. A meaty and complex wine, with a long finish on the palate.”

“This is really dynamic and focused with blueberry, blackberry and mineral character. Hints of lavender and sandalwood. Full body, yet so tight and lifting. The palate just grows at the finish which goes on and on. Juicy, meaty and dried herb flavors at the end,” writes James Suckling..

The first release of this wine was 2018, under the 'Viña Cobos Vineyard Designate' label. The Viña Cobos Vineyard Designate line captures the richness and power of exceptional vineyards and estates within Valle de Uco and Luján de Cuyo. 

This was dark inky purple colored, full bodied, rich, concentrated extracted black and blue fruits with notes of bacon, tobacco, black tea, spice and herbs with a full lingering finish. 

RM 94 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4240423 

https://www.paulhobbsselections.com/vinfata-cobos

 

https://twitter.com/VinaCobos 

@VinaCobos

Stalworth Rutherford Bench Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

Ryan also brought this recently acquired limited release label to try to determine his cellaring strategy and expected drinking profile. 

This is the Rutherford Bench label from co-owner and general manager of the Stalworth project Tim Persson who, with his wife, Sabrina, took over his father-in-law's wine business, Hess Family Wine Estates, which today is called Hess Persson Estates. 

Tim took over running the wine estates after spending time with his father-in-law, Donald Hess, during the post-financial crisis in 2010 and 2011. In 2012, Tim and his wife moved to Napa Valley to oversee the estate and family wine business.

Tim has a unique background being raised in one of the smallest African countries, Eswatini – Africa's last absolute monarchy, previously known as Swaziland. After attending university in Europe, he became a corporate lawyer and practiced in New York and London before meeting his wife Sabrina.

Tim oversees and leads the wine business as Sabrina tends to her psychotherapy practice. Together they managed to navigate a series of setbacks and natural disasters including the 2014 earthquake that destroyed one of their main wine cellars, the landslides in 2016 that cut off power and access to the winery, wildfires in 2017 causing the winery only being able to make a small fraction of its high-end wines due to the wildfires and the smoke, and wildfires agin in 2020 forcing them to make no Napa wine at all.

Yet, Tim's initial mission to "reestablish" the credentials of Hess with regards to making high-end Cabernet Sauvignon wines was never deterred. As he thought about the 30th anniversary of Hess Family Wine Estates, celebrated in 2011, it was now his responsibility to make sure that the winery stayed relevant for the next 30 years and that is where Stalworth comes in. 

For the Stalworth project, Tim searched for a great Napa winemaker who would oversee creating an iconic wine from the Rutherford Bench, raising the bar when it came to Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon wines. 

He as able to sign Celia Welch, an expert in making iconic Rutherford wines including the hard to obtain Scarecrow. They found the ideal vineyard in the Rutherford Bench in 2015 but the back-to-back unfortunate events of extreme accumulation of drought from 2012 to 2015 as well as all the disasters suffered from 2014 to 2017, put off the first vintage of Stalworth until 2018 - considered a "spectacular year" that is "terroir-driven" according to Wine Spectator. 

Celia said that they used that delay time to learn the vineyard and to experiment in the winery with the wines in building up to and preparing for the inaugural vintage. During that time, they also had to rebuild the original historic antique stone winery, built in 1903, that had been destroyed by an earthquake, allowing them to build a state-of-the-art facility setting the stage to reach greater heights.

This 2019 Stalworth, Rutherford Bench, NapaValley is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with a minuscule amount of Malbec and Petit Verdot. 

Winemaker notes - “Delicious cassis flavor to this wine that has lots of juiciness with blackberry preserves and baking spice with sweet tobacco leaf and crushed rocks all wrapped up in lush tannins and a superb length of flavor.”

Adding a slight amount of Malbec and Petit Verdot, according to Celia, was more about "balancing the texture" as there might be either a dip in the mid-palate that needs to be filled in or maybe some rounding out as she always wants the last sip to be tasty as she wants to avoid any astringency. 

This was dark ruby colored, full bodied with elegant polished blackberry and black cherry fruits with notes of black tea, floral and anise with smooth polished tannins on the lingering finish. 

RM 92 points. 

Only 167 cases were made of their inaugural release in 2018.

Del Dotto ‘Vineyard 887’ Connoisseur Series Colbert French Oak St Helena Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 

I pulled from the cellar this special limited release label from Del Dotto Vineyards, a family-owned winery which focuses on small production, premium wines. Since our introduction to Dave and Yolanda Del Dotto back in the 90’s they have gone on to acquire several more vineyards across the top Napa Valley American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) including Rutherford, Oakville, St. Helena, Spring Mountain, Howell Mountain, as well as out on the Sonoma Coast. 

Through our wine club allocations and purchases at the various Del Dotto wineries over the years, including the St Helena Winery and Caves, and the Piazza Del Dotto Winery in Oakville, this producer represents one of the largest holdings in our cellar collection, dating back to their inaugural releases in 1993-94. 

We’ve visited three of the Del Dotto winery estates including one of the most memorable wine tasting events we have had in Napa - the delicacies culinary wine pairing at Piazza Del Dotto during our Napa Wine Experience 2018. 

We’ve featured Del Dotto tasting and site visits many times in these pages including  our Del Dotto Winery and Caves tasting tour the year earlier, when we acquired this bottle. 
With small production counts and a dedicated team, they produce luxurious, high-quality wines. This is from their Rutherford estate, which consists of 12 acres of Bordeaux varietals. Robert Parker has praised the producer: "Don’t dare miss a tasting at Del Dotto’s cellars... Dave Del Dotto has put together an impressive team of winemakers and spent a fortune securing some of the best vineyard sites money can buy. All things considered, his wines, which he calls “silk juice,” are exceptional in quality, along with his charcuterie, which really could be sold for a small fortune, given the amazing quality it exhibits.”

• In the unique, almost excessive Connoisseur Series, Del Dotto uses over 50 barrel types from cooperages around the world including France, USA, Russia, Hungary and Italy. Bottles are labelled with the oak type. For this single vineyard release the Del Dotto website lists no less than 37 different wines featuring different specific oak barrel and vintage combinations.

  
  

  

  Our Pour Boys wine group tour the Del Dotto
  St Helena Winery and Caves 
  

  I pulled from our cellar this ultra-premium single-vineyard designated select Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. This was especially fun to taste this label as it represents some pleasant memories of our Napa Valley wine tours. We tasted and then procured this wine during our Napa Valley, Del Dotto Winery and Caves Tasting and Tour in 2018.
  
  This single vineyard designated select label is crafted from fruit from the Del Dotto 887 St Helena Vineyard. 
• 
  
• The vineyard is named for the address, 887 St Helena Highway, on the south approaches into the town, the picturesque vineyard sits just north of Zinfandel Lane nestled against the foothill along St Helena highway. It consists of nine acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, planted in 2000. 
  
  

  

  Rick & Linda with David Del Dotto, 2003

  Located on the south end of the St. Helena Appellation, Vineyard 887 is one of the highest rated vineyards in Napa Valley. It is purported to be the favorite vineyard of the producer.
  
  

  This vineyard shows the typical St. Helena characteristics of lush, fruity berries, with easily accessible tannins on the palate. 

  The inaugural vintage of an 887 Vineyard single vineyard designated wine/label was in 2004. By 2012 it was receiving 96-98 point ratings from Robert Parker. 

  
  

    

  The property also is the site of a guest cottage, amidst the vineyard surrounded by the vines. Linda and I had the pleasure of staying in the cottage during a memorable weekend at the Napa Valley Del Dotto winery, estate, vineyards and cave tour back in 2003 (left).

  The single vineyard designated label didn't exist back then, it came along the next year, but we didn't discover the label until our 2018 estate and winery visit and tour. We purchased this label at that time, much in remembrance of that earlier visit, and had great anticipation of tasting this wine again, which we finally did tonight. 

  
  

  Del Dotto Napa Valley Vineyard 887 St. Helena Connoiseur's Series Colbert French Oak Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 

  

  This is a classic Napa Valley Cabernet Savignon, crafted in the unique Del Dotto method, it is part of the Del Dotto Connoisseur's Series where the same wine will be aged in different oak barrels of different oaks for the ultimate comparison tasting experience. We once did a horizontal tasting of the same wine aged in several different French and American Oak barrels. I recall this oak, was my favorite from that tasting, although many of the differences are very slight and nuanced. 

  
  

  This version was aged in Colbert French Oak. Robert Parker gives this wine 95 points and an aging window of 2018 out to 2040. 

  We have hosted wine dinners where we served a selection the Connoisseur Series of the same wine aged in different oaks. Only the discriminating experienced enophiles appreciated and discerned the differences. 

Winemaker notes - “This is a very unique and dense Vineyard 887 Cabernet Sauvignon bouquet.  Powerful aromatics of leather, cedar, tobacco and blueberry and boysenberry fruits.  As the nose opens up, nuances of purple rose pedals and sweet Tahitian vanilla bean develop. The mouthfeel is very balanced and soft, yet rich from the mid to back palate. This lovely Reserve Cab showcases cassis, black currants and raspberry with an undertone of dark chocolate covered strawberries. The 2015 887 is drinking beautifully right now and will continue to unfold layers of flavors for the next 10+ years.”

Dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, complex, concentrated, forward, structured black berry and tangy black currant fruits with notes of pipe tobacco, black tea, graphite and hints of milk chocolate, anise and spicy cinnamon turning to firm but silky smooth approachable tannins on the long tangy acidic lingering finish. This is getting better every year. In 2020 I wrote, this needs a few more years to settle, soften and integrate further. It’s working as this was delicious and likely will continue to improve with some more aging over the next several years. I wish I had more. 

RM 94 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2743499

https://www.deldottovineyards.com/our-wines

https://www.deldottovineyards.com/collection/vineyard-887

https://www.deldottovineyards.com/product/2015-vineyard-887-family-reserve-cabernet-sauvignon-750ml

Beau Vigne “Cult” Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

Alec brought this ultra-premium Napa Valley Cabernet. 

This producer first caught our attention when buddy Bob brought one of their wines to our Pour Boys OTBN - "Open-That-Bottle-Night" 2022 in Charleston and I pegged it as WOTN - Wine of the Night, my personal favorite. Bob picked up the bottle at his local Total Wine beverage superstore in Boca Raton Town Center. I saw the label when there and also at the new Total Wine in Indy. 

Soon thereafter, son Ryan got their wine club promotional mailing and shared it and Alec and I picked up a mixed case of their Signature Series Bordeaux varietals including this aged vintage release from their library close-out. Since then we’ve continued to collect various labels and releases from their collection. 

I’ve written about Beau Vigne in several blogposts in these pages, (pronounced bo-veenya), Beau Vigne was founded by Ed and Trish Snider with their first vintage release in 2002. Translated from French it means beautiful vineyard in French.

Ed’s family has a long history in Napa Valley dating back to his Swiss Italian grandfather Martin Garzoli who arrived in Napa in 1913. He grew up on a ranch in Carneros and worked on farms in Napa and Sonoma. Martin made his own wines at home in the evenings. His son John Garzoli played for the San Francisco 49ers in 1955 and went on to coach football at St. Helena High School in the center of Napa Valley where children of many vintners attended school. A number of Ed’s former students are now in the wine industry.

In 2018, they sold Beau Vigne to Don Dady and Jason Kyle from Arizona. Jason was a former NFL football player, a long snapper for five different teams including the San Francisco 49ers. In addition to his wine interests, Jason is co-owner of Press Coffee Roasters with locations in Arizona.  Partner Dady is co-founder of Annexus, a financial company in Scottsdale and also owns Seven Apart Winery in Napa Valley just north of the city of Napa. 

Beau Vigne sourced fruit for their estate wines from their 10 acre Stags Ridge Vineyard at the top of Soda Canyon Road on the slopes of Atlas Peak at about 1650 feet elevation. The site was planted to 8 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and an acre each of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Ed sold the vineyard and it is now a part of Seven Apart Winery’s estate. Beau Vigne continues to source grapes from there and other premium vineyards in Napa Valley. 

Since 2019, Beau Vigne has partnered with Appellation Trading Company to distribute Beau Vigne as part of their portfolio of brands. 

Over the years, Beau Vigne has been crafted by several highly regarded Napa Valley winemakers. Their founding winemaker was Dave Phinney who went on to develop several successful brands, most notably, Orin Swift Cellars and the Prisoner portfolio of wines. One of our favorite winemakers, Kirk Venge of Venge Vineyards has also crafted Beau Vigne wines. Today the winemaker is Julien Fayard.

Originally from France, Julien began his career as a winemaker producing quality rosé at his family’s winery in Provence. He worked at legendary Chateaux Lafite Rothschild and Smith Haut Laffite in Bordeaux before relocating to Napa Valley where he was Philippe Melka’s director of winemaking for a few years before setting out on his own.

Julien earned his Master in Agri-Business from ESA France and his Master in Winemaking from Toulouse France. In 2011, he received his MBA from UC Davis. 

Recently, Beau Vigne became part of a select collection of vintners represented at Vintner’s Collective, the city of Napa’s oldest collective tasting room. They showcase wines from an elite group of premier Napa Valley producers who do not have their own tasting rooms. Select bottlings and vintages of Beau Vigne are available for tasting and purchased there. 

Beau Vigne bottles wines under three different brands; the Legacy Series, the Signature Series and the Discovery Series.

Beau Vigne “CULT” Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

First released in 2008 and is culled solely from barrels selected with complex aromatics, voluptuous texture and purity as well as depth. CULT is produced to “convey a pure expression of climate and soil with winemaker Julien Fayard nurturing its creation,” according to the producer. ‘

This label is a bit of an enigma, Release priced at $150, some sellers play on the ‘Cult’ label and market dynamics and sell it for $200. Yet, it can be found discounted at $99, and often for less. 

The 2020 Cult is a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc and a dash of Petit Verdot magic.

Winemaker notes - Crushed black currant and bing cherry aromas. Among these scents are black licorice, clove, and melted dark chocolate. Flavors of shortbread, blackberry, and plum hit the palate. Loamy black truffle elements add layers of savoriness to the long finish.

Garnet colored, medium full bodied, tightly structured, ripe black currant and blackberry fruits with notes of anise, clove spice and bitter dark chocolate and cedar with moderate tannnins on a lingering finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?4476435

https://www.beauvigne.com/